Wednesday, January 28, 2015

On
Saturday, January 24, the Fulton Science Academy Private School Science
Olympiad Team competed in the Dodgen Invitational, one of the premiere
Science Olympiad competitions with teams from five states. FSAPS placed a
close second to Piedmont IB School from Charlotte, North Carolina, who
finished ninth at Science Olympiad Nationals last year. FSAPS Team
members medaled in 19 of the 23 events, demonstrating great consistency.
Head coaches Pam Walsh and Gloria Stathos were proud of the team’s
performance. “This was definitely our hardest competition to date and
our students really performed well,” said Mrs. Walsh.

On
Saturday, January 24, the Fulton Science Academy Future City Team
competed in Future City Competition at Southern Polytechnic State
University. They won four awards including one of the seven special
awards “Team of the year”. Even though it was the first experience for
our teachers and students of Future City, they are off to a wonderful
start!
FSA team took months to plan and build their city. Before
the final judging on Saturday, team was required to prepare 5 components
for the competition. The competition components are as follows:

1- Research Essay: Students
do a wide research on a predetermined concept and write an essay. This
year’s theme was to choose two foods (one vegetable and one protein) and
design a way to grow enough of each within the future city borders to
feed all of the citizens for at least one growing season. Taking into
account your city’s size and location, students must consider the
critical elements needed to grow food including light, climate, air
quality, space, water, soil, and nutrients. Our team developed a
futuristic farming method called SEAS (Smart Efficient Aquaponics
System). Aquaponics is a system of aquaculture in which the waste
produced by farmed fish or other aquatic animals supplies nutrients for
plants grown hydroponically, which in turn purify the water.
Below is a paragraph from our research essay describing what the SEAS is and how it works.

‘‘The
initial SEAS design consisted of a large steel cylindrical structure
containing an aquaponics farm inside. To this, numerous large fish tanks
were added as well as trays where watercress is produced. The SEAS is
extremely efficient. All required energy is produced by a solar panel on
top. Sensors collect data such as temperature, humidity, light levels
and carbon dioxide levels which can be monitored remotely. The collected
data is evaluated by SEAS software and can be sent to remote devices.
Automatic shades control the amount of light entering the structure to
regulate temperatures depending on the weather and time of day.
Insulation can also be deployed to protect the fish and crops during
winter months.’’2- Virtual City: Students use SimCity software to design a city that progresses into the future.

3 - City Narrative:
Students write a narrative (maximum 500 words) describing their future
city’s key features and design attributes. The purpose of the City
Narrative is to give the judges a quick overview of the future city’s
infrastructure and its public services.

4- 3D Model:
Students build a physical model of a section of their city using
recycled materials that has at least one moving part. The model does not
need to be an exact building-by-building duplication of the virtual
design. Rather, the purpose of the model is to give a three-dimensional,
creative representation of an area that best represents the team’s
vision of their future city.

5- Presentation: Students
give a 7 minute presentation discussing features of their future city
followed by a 5 - 8 minute question and answer period from the judges
(overall time will not exceed 15 minutes). Be sure to check with your
Regional Coordinator for exact competition times.

All
future city students worked cooperatively for months focusing on
different components of the competition. They worked at cabin camps,
stayed for after school meetings and participated home tutoring
sessions. All of their effort paid off! They won “Team of the Year
Award” , “Most Innovative Construction Techniques Award”, “Accessible
City” and “Excellence in the use of Building Materials Award”.

Terry Porter, Environmental Educator for the City of Alpharetta, visited
our 6th grade Earth Science class this past Friday, January 23rd. Mrs.
Porter brought in the Water Treatment Interactive Model. Mrs. Porter led
students through a variety of hands-on experiments to better understand
the stages of cleaning water for human use. Students joined to the
activity and did the steps all together. It was fun to see the water
color changes from brown to clear! Thank you Mrs. Porter

On
Friday January 16th the FSAPS Anime Club had a Lock-In as an
opportunity for students to collaborate with others who are fans of the
Anime art form and interested in both traditional and pop Japanese
culture. The Lock-In began at 4:30 pm with attendees perusing a menu to
order Hibachi dinners and contribute thoughts on our sushi selections.
Students then engaged in playing card and board games, created geisha
bookmarks using origami paper, learned some simple brushstroke
techniques to create their own bamboo paintings, and enjoyed a delicious
dinner. We may have watched a little Anime as well J The almost all
night long event (students took a break in the wee hours of the morning
to grab a quick nap) concluded with a breakfast of eggs, fruit, doughnut
holes, and Ramen noodles (yes, Ramen).

A big thank you to Mr. Tuzen and Mrs. Unal for helping this event run so smoothly.

Our Kindergarten students had such a great time celebrating our 100th
Day of School this past Thursday, January 22nd. We started the day by
sharing the 100th Day Poster Creations. We are so impressed
with all of our 100th Day Poster Projects. Kindergarten students were
SO creative and we can tell that they worked extremely hard. We enjoyed
sharing each project and they are now displayed in the hallway for all
of FSAPS to see! Our celebration continued with creating our 100th Day
punch (with 100 cherries!), and our 100 pieces of paper challenge
between two teams. After lunch, students rotated to eight different
centers to celebrate the 100th Day. Students were able to create a
necklace with 100 beads counting by tens, each student saw and wrote
about themselves as old men and old women with the help of technology,
they created a picture using the number 1-0-0 and wrote about their
creation, they made a commemorative magnet to show they are 100 days
smarter, students participated in a 100 cup building challenge, students
competed against each other in a 'zero eating' donut contest, each
class wrote 100 words together, and everyone enjoyed a snack called
"Derdnuh" which included 100 pieces of snack. We ended the day by
counting back from 100 and enjoying silly string on the playground!
Students left with a 100 balloon and a giant smile on their face! It was
such a fun day.

A big thank you to all of our parent
volunteers and parents who donated items to help make this a special
day! The teachers in Kindergarten appreciate you :-)

Please
join the Thespians in the cafeteria this Friday after school for the
first annual Thespian induction ceremony recognizing those students who
have demonstrated commitment to excellence in the theatre arts.

Several
of our Thespians will be attending the Junior Thespian Festival in
Nashville, TN March 19th-21st, please wish them luck on their individual
performances!

Our Destination Imagination team Golden
Armour has been working hard on the D.I. Feary Tale Challenge. Please
wish them luck as they present their challenge at the Regional Showcase
February 21st and the Affiliate Tournament on March 28th!

The Thespian Society will form two teams to take on the D.I. Improv Challenge, so please wish them luck as well!

We
will have a joint Thespian Society and Destination Imagination lock-in
Friday, February 6th for all teams to have some extra time to work
together on their respective challenges.
The Thespian Society will be attending the Family Improv Comedy by The Basement Theatre
on Friday, January 30th at 8pm. If you would like to join us, please
email Mrs. Millar by end of day Wednesday - if you would like to
carpool, please meet at FSA by 7pm.

So far this school year, our Instruments of the World students have
learned about different places of the world and how their music and
instruments represent a variety of elements in their culture. We have
learned how people go to great lengths to connect with others through
music whether cultural differences, religious beliefs, borders or
physical boundaries. We have learned that those in countries not as rich
as ours, make their own instruments out of recycled goods/garbage and
play in an orchestra! We have composed and arranged our own music within
different boundaries/guidelines decided upon as a team. Our favorite
thing to do is learn new rhythms and beats with different percussion
equipment trying to recreate those in the different areas of the world.
Below you can see our latest project, creating working musical
instruments made from recycled materials from our school.

Tournament`s Rules:
· Games will begin at 4:30pm. Semi-finals and Finals will begin at 3:30pm.
· Each half will be 15 minutes with 5 minutes break.
· Each team will have 5 students in game and 1 substitute.
· Aggressive game will not be tolerated and the opposing team will receive a free.
· For yellow card, player will have 2 minutes time out.
· For red card, player will miss next game.
· Each team should include at least 2 elementary students.
· No corner kick
· If soccer ball goes out over the end line, regardless of who it is out on, the side goal keeper gets to start with the ball.
·
A kickoff from the center mark starts play at the beginning of each
half and after every goal. A player who starts play may not play the
ball again until another plays the ball.
· Winning team move on to the next game; a tie will be won in a 5 minutes “sudden-death” overtime period.
· Each player must wear shin guards and indoor footwear.

Monday, January 26, 2015

The Parent Volunteer Organization and Student Council of Fulton Science Academy Private School invites you to become a permanent part of the newly constructed school by purchasing a commemorative brick for the new school entrance way. This is a great way for students to be remembered even after they graduate, or for a family to leave a lasting legacy at Fulton Science Academy Private School!

Our target is to raise $250,000. Your brick purchase will support a general fund to help pay for much-needed necessities such as new lockers, security cameras, new library furniture, gym bleachers and other items to improve and enhance our school.

Commemorative bricks are a great way to thank your favorite teacher or support your loved ones. Your brick could be engraved with your family name, a student name or name of an alumni. Engraved bricks make a wonderful way for grandparents and relatives to contribute to the school as well.

All proceeds benefit FSAPS students, staff and school. The FSAPS is a 501(c)(3) organization, so your contribution may be tax deductible. All orders are due by Feb 25, 2015. FSAPS administration has the final right to approve names/messages on bricks.

There are three donation amount for brick purchase. All bricks are 4x8 and can include three lines of text up to 18 characters per line.

FSAPS students recently competed in two different school-wide bees, the spelling bee and the National Geographic Bee. The spelling bee took place on Thursday, January 15th with the geography bee following the next day.

In the spelling bee, two winners were taken from each language arts class to compete in the school bee. These students represented all classes in 4th through 8th grades. After a marathon bee, three finalists remained and eventually a winner emerged, 6th grader Arul Selvakumar. Arul will represent FSAPS in the local spelling bee next month.

After the excitement of the spelling bee students had to regroup and switch subjects to participate in the 12th annual school geography bee. In a contest that lasted through several rounds, two finalists faced off. Amazingly, Arul, the winner of the school spelling bee the day before, came out on top once again! Arul will complete a qualifying exam for the opportunity to represent FSAPS at the state National Geographic Bee on March 27th.
This is the third year in a row that a student has won both the spelling and geography bee. Arul was able to unseat the reigning champion who had won both in the two previous years.

Today, we had a unique learning experience in our 6th grade classes. Alabama Museum of Natural History (AMNH ) visited the 6th Grade Earth Science Class virtually. AMNH offers a variety of in-school programs such as fossil history, watershed education, and rocks and minerals. It was a distance visit via Skype to talk about fossils. Museum experts presented materials and interacted with students through a digital presentation. They showed pieces from their collection as well as their work environment. Students were able to ask their questions and learn more about what does being a paleontologist mean and what s/he does. It was a great day. We are looking forward to host them again!

At FSAPS, we love to host leaders of community and experts from different fields for our students. Today, we hosted an amazing software developer, Mr. Pratik Patel. Mr/ Patel is also one of our 6th grade parents. After the presentation, there was also a Q&A session. We thank Mr. Patel very much for the wonderful presentation today.

Pratik Patel is the CTO of Atlanta based TripLingo (http://www.triplingo.com/). He wrote the first book on 'enterprise Java' in 1996, “Java Database Programming with JDBC.” He has also spoken at various conferences and participates in several local tech groups and startup groups. He's in the startup world now and hacks iOS, Android, HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Rails, and ….. well everything except Perl.

Pratik's specialty is in large-scale applications for mission-critical and mobile applications use. He has designed and built applications in the retail, health care, financial services, and telecoms sectors. Pratik holds a master's in Biomedical Engineering from UNC, has worked in places such as New York, London, and Hong Kong, and currently lives in Atlanta, GA.

“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” — Maya Angelou

Hi Parents,

Please help us celebrate the rich and amazingly diverse cultural heritage of our student body by sharing a favorite family dish with your child's classmates on Sunday, February 22, 2015 from 5:00 to 8:00. You can RSVP using the link below:
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/30E0448AAA9238-cultural/

The Fulton Science Academy Private School celebration will include more than food. We would like to showcase the abilities of our talented students in our talent show. You can sign up for a 15 minute time slot using the link below. Time slots will be allocated on a first come first serve basis so be sure to reserve your spot early.
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/30E0448AAA9238-cultural1/

We will also have tables setup for those who would like to bring in any cultural artifacts. These artifacts can be from other countries which you have lived. If you would like to share information about your country and your artifacts. You can sign up for a spot using the link below.
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/30E0448AAA9238-cultural2/

Beside the amazing food, performances and artifacts, there will also be face painting for $1, an around the world game for $1, and a free photo booth. We are looking forward to seeing you. Don’t forget to wear your native costume!

I am pleased to inform you that our school continues to grow. We currently have 271 students. Based on current applications and enrollments, the enrollment projections for next school year indicate that we will have over 350 students in our new campus.

For the first time, we will have two classes in each elementary grade next year. As we only have two classes dedicated for each elementary grades in the new campus, we expect that we will have a waiting list for elementary grades very soon.

Additionally, for the first time next year, we expect to have four 6th grade classes. Considering we already have two 5th grade classes, this is only natural at this point. We have dedicated four classes for each middle school grade in the new campus and we are excited to be able to start our first year in the new campus with what we have targeted. Having four classes in the middle grades is ideal as it will allow our middle school teachers to specialize on one subject in a certain grade.

As a result of the increase in student enrollment, we will be adding new classrooms, extra-curricular teachers, and support personnel.

The sooner we start hiring, the higher quality personnel we will be recruiting. We have already hired a wonderful teacher/administrator from FSA High School, Mrs. Kelly Rodgers.

We would like to inform you that FSAPS Physical Education Department is organizing a school-wide soccer tournament for our students.=

Registration:

It is open to all students from 4th to 8th grade. If you wish to join, please return registration from to Mrs. Trotter by the end of January 23rd. Create your own team, however, if you do not have a team, see Mrs. Trotter and you will be placed on a team.

Tournament`s Rules:

· Games will begin at 4:30pm. Semi-finals and Finals will begin at 3:30pm.

· Each half will be 15 minutes with 5 minutes break.

· Each team will have 5 students in game and 1 substitute.

· Aggressive game will not be tolerated and the opposing team will receive a free.

· For yellow card, player will have 2 minutes time out.

· For red card, player will miss next game.

· Each team should include at least 2 elementary students.

· No corner kick

· If soccer ball goes out over the end line, regardless of who it is out on, the side goal keeper gets to start with the ball.

· A kickoff from the center mark starts play at the beginning of each half and after every goal. A player who starts play may not play the ball again until another plays the ball.

· Winning team move on to the next game; a tie will be won in a 5 minutes “sudden-death” overtime period.

· Each player must wear shin guards and indoor footwear.

Awards:

· 1st Place Team: $120 Gift Card ($20 per student)

· 2nd Place Team: $90 Gift Card ($15 per student)

· 3rd Place Team: $60 Gift Card ($10 per student)

Fee:

$ 12 per team: $ 2 per person.

If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Trotter at ntrotter@fultonscienceacademy.org

Sunday, January 25, 2015

The Fulton Science Academy Private School Science Olympiad Team travelled to its first out of state tournament of the season, competing in the Friendship Christian Invitational in Lebanon, Tennessee this past Saturday, January 10, 2015. The team left school on Friday morning and headed to the Adventure Science Center in Nashville where they participated in the “Amazing Reactions” program demonstrating many exciting (and sometimes explosive!) chemical reactions. Afterwards, students explored the museum including the Adventure Tower, Body Quest, and Space Chase exhibits.

The competition began early Saturday morning with students unpacking and calibrating their building devices and making last-minute tournament preparations. After six intense hours of testing-taking and device-testing it was all over and students and coaches anxiously awaited the awards ceremony.

Although there was tough competition with teams from three states and several nationally-ranked teams, Fulton Science Academy students were called up for honors in 21 of the 23 events and was awarded the 1st place team trophy.

Head Coaches Pam Walsh and Gloria Stathos were thrilled with the team’s performance. “Out of state tournaments are always a challenge,” said Mrs. Walsh. “Students and coaches really have to work hard prepare. Packing up building devices for travel is tricky as they tend to be somewhat fragile. All in all our kids did great and had a wonderful time.”
Individual awards were earned by the following students:

Once again Math Department has excellent news to share with FSAPS community.
Nationwide AMC 8 Math Competition results are just back! 7th grader, Charlie Furniss is the best performer in our school by scoring 24 correct answers out of 25 questions. With this score Charlie is placed in top 1% nationwide! Additionally, 7 FSAPS students placed in top 5% nationwide! These students are Ananya Terala, Katherine Li, Mira Mutnick, Tyler Hecht, Vishal Ram, Kalissa Greene, Karuna Kumar.

Way to go MathMagicians! Please congratulate these students as you see them at the school for their great performance at AMC 8 Math Competition!

All Elementary students in grades Pre-K through 5th grade enjoyed an action-packed day of winter crafts, games, activities, prizes, and treats on Thursday, December 18th during the 3rd Annual FSAPS Elementary Winter Celebration! Students rotated among seven different themed classrooms such as “The Gingerbread House Room,” “Club Penguin,” "The Science of Snow," and “The Snowman Room.” Students had fun going penguin game stations including penguin bowling and musical penguins for prizes, hearing holiday stories, and playing “Pass-The-Present.” Students created edible snow globes, played “Pin-The-Nose on the Snowman,” and even got to take a little bit of snow home with them from this special day. Overall, the students and parent volunteers had a joyful, festive time celebrating the season together! A big thanks to all of our parents who donated their time or materials, we appreciate you.

Middle school science fair winners
1st Place - Mira Mutnick - "What is the effect of age on the fears a person has?"
2nd Place - Arul Selvakumar - "Can the Carcinogen-free Bioplastic Emulate Synthetic Plastic?
3rd Place - Akash Bhatt - "What is the effect of genre of music on concentration?"

The first and second place winners have been invited to participate in the Fulton County Science and Engineering Fair on January 31.

Our faculty members have begun to visit our new campus in small groups this past week. Beginning February the new campus may also be toured by our parents on Saturdays. We we will send you an e-mail and explain how you can schedule your tour.

The great news is that the campus construction is 10 days ahead of schedule as of today and will be completed sometime in May 2015. Hopefully, we will start moving our class furnitures and start decorating our classes at the end of May, 2015.

After 13 years in our current facility, these are such exciting times for our FSA community. :)

For those of you wondering, our new address will be:
3035 Fanfare Lane
Alpharetta GA 30009